Holloway court named in mentor’s honor

Published: Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 10:34 PM.

Robyn Murphy, who flew in for the ceremony with her daughter Morgan from their home in suburban Detroit, recalled how her father quietly helped those who needed help.

Saturday’s speeches, she said, were touching.

“It was very heartwarming to hear everybody who got up and spoke about him to talk about what he did for the kids,” she said. “You really appreciate that because growing up, you have a child’s perspective. You don’t necessarily know. You just know that there’s always somebody else extra at the dinner table or in the house.”

Among the children influenced by Robert Murphy was future NBA star Jerry Stackhouse, who sent along his best wishes through a childhood friend.

Murphy, a North Carolina Central alumnus, was described as the driving force behind the “Eagles in the East” game, which brought NCCU’s football team to Kinston High School for games.

“He was like James Brown for that event: the hardest-working man in show business,” said Eleanor Harvey, who represents an NCCU alumni chapter.

When Robyn Murphy learned that her late father would be honored in Kinston, she knew she had to be there.

She wasn’t the only one.

A crowd of about 60 people gathered at Holloway Recreation Center on Saturday morning for the unveiling of the refurbished Robert Murphy Basketball Court, a tribute to a man who spent a lifetime educating and influencing the city’s children.

“He probably did as much for young folks in Lenoir County as anybody,” said Kinston/Lenoir County Parks & Recreation director Bill Ellis.

“He’s just one of those people who didn’t get a whole lot of recognition for all the good he did.”

Recognition came in bunches at Saturday’s ceremony. Robert Murphy, who died of congestive heart failure at age 70 in 2006, was remembered as a friend, mentor and second father in heartfelt speeches by many of those he influenced.

Murphy spent about 40 years as a teacher and coach at Savannah Middle School, Ellis said, all the while working part-time and volunteering at Holloway. He also served for decades as a high school football and basketball referee.

About a dozen people, one by one, stood before the crowd Saturday to share their memories.

“Robert Murphy did great things for the City of Kinston and Lenoir County,” Mayor Pro Tem Joe Tyson said.

“We need more Robert Murphys.”

Tommy Mattocks, a longtime official in several sports, said Murphy took him under his wing when Mattocks was a young referee.

Mattocks, who attended all-white Grainger High School and N.C. State in the racially divisive 1960s, credited Murphy, who was black, with helping him make the transition when integration in schools was new.

“Robert Murphy bridged the gap for me,” Mattocks said.

“I was a blessed person the day I met Robert Murphy.”

Robyn Murphy, who flew in for the ceremony with her daughter Morgan from their home in suburban Detroit, recalled how her father quietly helped those who needed help.

Saturday’s speeches, she said, were touching.

“It was very heartwarming to hear everybody who got up and spoke about him to talk about what he did for the kids,” she said. “You really appreciate that because growing up, you have a child’s perspective. You don’t necessarily know. You just know that there’s always somebody else extra at the dinner table or in the house.”

Among the children influenced by Robert Murphy was future NBA star Jerry Stackhouse, who sent along his best wishes through a childhood friend.

Murphy, a North Carolina Central alumnus, was described as the driving force behind the “Eagles in the East” game, which brought NCCU’s football team to Kinston High School for games.

“He was like James Brown for that event: the hardest-working man in show business,” said Eleanor Harvey, who represents an NCCU alumni chapter.

As Murphy’s friends, family members and purple-clad fraternity brothers looked on Saturday, recreation officials removed white sheets from the floor to reveal gray lettering that reads “Robert Murphy Court.”

“This is a living legacy honoring Robert for the things that he did right here on this site,” Lenoir County board of commissioners chairman George Graham told the crowd.

Robyn Murphy, whose parents died five months apart after more than 40 years of marriage, said receiving news of the court’s naming was “bittersweet.” But she knew her dad would be proud.

“There was no way I was going to miss this,” she said.

“The bitterness of it was that my parents were not here to see it come to fruition. I know he’s beaming right now.”

David Hall can be reached at (252) 559-1086 or at david.hall@kinston.com.